Practice flyrod ?

[ralphs007]

I was thinking of getting one of these for the long coming winter.I'm not really sure if it would do me any good.Has anyone ever used one of these and would you recommend one?I like to practice outside but since I'm a fair weather fairy, I won't be practicing outside this winter.:0)
Thanks in advance

 

[kobalt335]

I've messed with one at fly shops before and I think for working with the basics of casting it does help. A guide once told me if you can cast so many feet of the yarn, that translates into so many feet of fly line (not sure if it's true or what the exacts were). There is no real substitute for using your normal rod in my mind however.

 

[ryansheehan]

Yes, I have one for my boys,6 and 8. That being said I've messed with it and its good for muscle memory. There are lots of opportunities to fish over the winter and with the right gear you're never cold.

 

[GonnaFlyNow]

ralphs,

Times are a changing. I went out last fall just to practice casting and find some new places to fish. Fall turned into winter and I was still out on the stream. It's almost December now and we will have some very nice weather for fishing. I would suggest go out and practice on a local stream and you might be pleasantly surprised how practice turns into landing a lunker or two.

All the best

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I have been know to put hola hoops and other items out on the yard and practice casting to.
Winter fishing can be productive as GonnaFlyNow has mentioned. There are far less people on the water during this timeframe.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

Yes now is a great time for a new fly fisherman to start to fish not a lot of guys out and a good chance to land some trout.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Practicing from a reclining position will do you no good.

 

[dsmith1427]

I picked one up at a garage sale and forgot I had it until I read your post. It was a novelty but rarely, if ever, gets used any more.

 

[tomgamber]

its great if you have a cat

 

[wbranch]

IMO a total waste of time and money. You want to practice over the winter? If you are healthy enough go to the local park whenever it's 45 degrees or more, and no wind, and take your normal fly rod and reel with you. Then you get to practice with the outfit you will use when out on the water.

If you want to practice indoors go buy a 1/2" x 4' dowel at Home Depot and attach a piece of Glo-Bug yarn to the end of it with a couple staples

 

[wbranch]

Pennypackflier wrote;

Practicing from a reclining position will do you no good

Hmm, it all depends on what kind of reclining practicing he is doing!

 

[FlyGuyGlen]

What about a situation like mine, where I'd like to be able to work on my cast for 10-15 minutes during my lunch break at the office. We have a small grassy area where I could go, but toting my rod around in the car all week makes me leery of damaging it.

From what I've read above, it seems there is a somewhat mixed opinion to the practice rod. I would rather hit a stream and get real world practice, but it's just not an option during the week.

I guess the bigger question should be, will a practice rod "hurt" your cast, or is it just a supplement for cases where you don't have the opportunity to break out your whole setup.